The Carolina Hearing Aid Bank
One-of-a-kind Initiative Offers the Gift of Hearing
Last year our statewide initiative to provide hearing aids to low-income South Carolinians provided help to 140 citizens whose hearing loss had impaired their ability to work, relate to their families, and otherwise lead normal lives. No other state can do anything this.
In 1996, parishioners at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, North Charleston created the “bank” to help low-income people acquire affordable hearing aids. With the encouragement of Palmetto Project Board member Bishop Bill Skilton, the group created partnerships with volunteer audiologists and a national manufacturer to provide new hearing aids at or even below cost for the uninsured, who were hard of hearing.
Five years ago the Bank had grown so that the parish asked the Palmetto Project to takeover and expand its reach and make its services more broadly available.
Today the Bank (CHAB) is professionally managed and dedicated to providing aids to South Carolinians who cannot afford them. Applicants have documented hearing loss, and incomes so low that purchasing these instruments on their own is impossible. Participating audiologists in the state provide free exams and ear molds, while funds are provided by local civic groups and churches.
- CHAB is able to acquire new hearing aids at a total cost of $299 per person when their actual retail market value is nearly $3,000.
- Thanks to CHAB, hundreds of low-income South Carolinians with hearing loss are now able to go back at work, live independently, and participate in everyday conversations with their loved ones.
Contact: Nell Killoy at nkilloy@palmettoproject.org
